How Do We Sustain - MET Lab Fridge Installation

Microgrid Engineers of Tomorrow Laboratory (MET Lab) Installed December 2019 on a shipping container at 6321 St. Clair Ave. The MET Lab was installed by high school students, learning about sustainability and urban causes of air emissions along with a PurpleAir Monitor donated by the Cleveland Department of Air Quality. At that time, Food Not Bombs began using the shipping container to store their pantry produce for their twice monthly free food shares. 

This year we will Insulate the MET Lab with Mycelium insulation panels, grown locally from recycled construction materials combined with mycelium- the roots of mushrooms.  We will be installing additional solar panels to increase the green power capacity and installing a split system air conditioning system to keep the container cool in the summer months and warm in the winter for the Food Not Bombs pantry. 

What's more is that the Panels will be decorated with Food- and Sustainability-Themed designs that will be grown into them through the Myceleum process.  This will create inspiring murals within the MET Lab for the students and the community members to enjoy.  These designs will be inspired by the spirit of our community of youth, environmental engineers, activists, volunteers, and organizations.  Creativity is key to creating green solutions to the climate crises that face the next generation.  We intend this project to be the first of many in Cleveland and across Ohio that delivers inspiration through sustainable technology to communities with limited access to these types of solutions.

We are working with so many community partners to train aspiring engineers and environmental scientists while helping feed countless Cleveland residents in the historical St. Clair Superior neighborhood. All proceeds will go to toward supervising the youth engineers and installing insulation, A/C, and solar panels.

Install foam insulation panels

Educational Field Trip to Redhouse Studios Myco-panel grow site

Create Mural Designs for the Side of the Myco-Panels

Install Additional Solar Panels

Install Split system A/C Unit

Install Myco-Panel insulation

Feed the Community for Years to Come

We created our Microgrid Engineers of Tomorrow Laboratory (MET Lab) to educate young people who aspire to be environmental engineers and to feed our beloved St. Clair Superior community. We also realize climate change is an overwhelming problem that requires immediate direct action, and our project hopes to put change in the hands of youth and POC since they are the ones who will be affected disproportionately as time goes on.  

We are generating 100% clean, renewable energy at this green space and training youth along the way in the design, construction, and data collection of a solar-battery system. We will cool a repurposed storage container and prolong the shelf life of donated food that provides free meals to the community. This will divert food from the landfill where it would otherwise create harmful greenhouse gases.

Lastly, one of the two layers of insulation will be manufactured in Cleveland from the combination of recycled construction material and mycelium- the roots of mushrooms. This low embodied energy insulating material is theory brought to reality showcasing the ingenuity of Cleveland professionals. Youth will help install these Myco-Panels working with a building material made up of Cleveland’s past buildings while creating a structure of the future. A Mural design grown into the Myco-Panels will further intention by inspiring all who work and learn in the MET Lab. We intend to establish this space as an educational resource for years to come.  Today the MET Lab stores food that feeds hundreds of St. Clair Superior neighborhood residents each month.